NCVS e-bulletin - Thursday 14 November 2024

The Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS) e-bulletin will be back in a fortnight. The deadline for contributions and comments is Monday 25 November 2024. Email communications@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Did you know we keep an archive of past NCVS e-bulletins? View the archive here.

Thursday 12 December 2024, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Zoom

An opportunity for members to come together via Zoom to network, discuss current work, develop wider partnerships, and hear from speakers.

NCVS will be hosting and facilitating a varied agenda, with presentations, collaborative workshops, and time for networking. Keep an eye out for the agenda.

Please register to ensure you receive the Zoom meeting link. If you have any questions about this event, please contact ncvs@nottinghamcvs.co.uk.

Until Sunday 24 November 2024, your organisation and your community can join the Daily Gift Hunt.

Putting your problem-solving skills to the test, The Daily Gift Hunt, as the name suggests, is a fun treasure hunt to win your organisation a daily £100 or £200 donation! Every time someone plays on your organisation’s behalf, it's an entry into the grand prize draw to win one of five £500 donations too!

Before you can go off and play, you need to create your easyfundraising account. Free and easy to set up, easyfundraising provides your organisation with a great fundraising opportunity through online shopping and gives you access to competitions like these.

Last week the National Academy for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA), our national membership body interviewed Jules Sebelin, NCVS CEO, as part of its section 114 project with Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales. Jules spoke about the role of local infrastructure and what the future looks like for Nottingham as we navigate a section 114 notice.

The Social Enterprise Accelerator programme recently held a joint event with the Business and IP Centre (BIPC) at Nottingham Central Library.

The attendees, mainly from the start-up programme, found out about the free resources that are available for local businesses, including research that will help them get valuable market insights and also access to GrantFinder, which helps you search lots of funding and finance opportunities. The BIPC centre is part of a wealth of resources that the libraries have to help with that key research, as well as the programme of support we have for both start-up and existing social enterprises in Nottingham.

It’s not too late to register for upcoming workshops, including an introduction to social enterprise later this month and, taking place early next year, legal structures and governance for social enterprise as well as a two-day start-up, and finance for start-up social enterprises.

Finally, we still have a few grants left for support with the start-up and growth, enabling you to focus on getting and winning business.

To find out more and get onto these, please follow the link below.

Himmah’s Winter Clothes Drive 2024 aims to keep the community warm this winter. For £10, you can provide a Winter Essentials Pack, including socks, a fleece scarf, thermal gloves, and a hat. They are also collecting winter coats, scarves, gloves, and other warm clothing at Himmah’s Food Bank in Nottingham. Donations help families, the elderly, and vulnerable individuals stay warm during the cold months.

The deadline for applications is Thursday 21 November 2024, 12 noon. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

Thanks to further funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK, Consortium and its Community Partners are delighted to deliver the second round of the LGBT+ Futures: Equity Fund. A total pot of £500,000 is available through small grants of between £100 and £25,000 for organisational running costs, projects, and organisational and leadership development.

The funding is ring-fenced specifically for intersectional LGBT+ organisations that are led by and for LGBT+ people and are working with targeted under-represented and under-resourced communities.

The deadline for applications is Friday 22 November 2024, 5pm

Nottingham City Council has launched the Winter Support Grant to help local organisations support households affected by rising living costs, especially energy bills. Grants range from £2,000 to £5,000, with no match funding required. Projects should aim to reduce the cost of living or improve energy efficiency in households. Eligible applicants include CICs, social enterprises, charities, public bodies, and constituted groups within Nottingham. 

The deadline for applications is Wednesday 8 January 2024, 5pm

Pilotlight has joined with Garfield Weston Foundation to provide charities, that have an annual income of less than £5 million, and work in the fields of community, environment, welfare, or youth with a support package worth just over £22,000.

Alongside an unrestricted grant of up to £6,500, successful charities will get a package of leadership mentoring from four senior professionals across diverse private and public sector organisations. These empathetic 'Pilotlighters' offer in-depth expert coaching on everything from creative operational efficiencies to sustainable long-term business strategies that take an organisation to the next level.

We're regularly updating the funding news on our website, so click the button below and find the fund for you!

Dave Thomas, Volunteering Development Officer at NCVS, continues his series of articles in support of Leaders of Volunteers.

Ever wondered if calling it something else would make volunteering more appealing? Dave Thomas dives into this idea, pondering if terms like 'community engagement' or 'acts of service' might attract more people.

Does the word 'volunteering' sound too formal or exclusive? Could a name change help or hinder? Dive into the discussion and share your thoughts on how a simple name might change everything.

The deadline to complete the survey is Friday 20 December 2024

Dave would like you to complete the VolunteerPro’s 2025 Volunteer Management Progress Report survey. This international survey, running for 10 years, helps share trends in volunteer engagement. Topics this year include challenges for volunteer leaders, average salaries, recruitment tactics, and more. By participating, you provide valuable insights that guide our sector's evolution.

Don't forget to mention NCVS’s volunteer opportunities page when sharing popular websites!

Your responses are confidential and anonymous. At the end, register for the 2025 Volunteer Management Progress Report Early Results webinar.

Green social prescribing is a way of connecting people to nature-based activities and green groups, projects and schemes in their local community for support with health and wellbeing. Often this will be through a referral from a Link Worker based at a GP practice or another primary care professional.

Our scheme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called GreenSpace, was one of seven government Green Social Prescribing Test and Learn sites.

While the National Test and Learn may have ended, NCVS continues to embed green social prescribing into health systems to make nature-based/outdoor activities an intervention of choice to support people to improve and maintain their mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Friday 22 November 2024, 10am to 1pm
Salvation Army, 14 Nonintone Place, Sneinton, NG2 4QG

Do you support individuals on low income who are aged 19 or over?

Join Direct Help and Advice for this session, all about benefits and work.

• Understand the Benefit System and Universal Credit
• Learn how to use a Benefit Calculator to check your entitlement
• Find out how work affects your current benefit entitlement

Refreshments and cake will be provided, as well as free entry into two prize draws for the chance to win a Chrome laptop.

To register to attend, contact the team by phone at 0115 9300 199 or 07458 104321, or by email at training@dhadvice.org. Alternatively, you can fill out this form.

Lunchtime Listening Support for Schooling
Nottingham Women's Centre (NWC) is inviting mums, caregivers and guardians to NWC for a chat over some lunch. They’d like to hear about your experiences managing your children’s attendance at school. What helps you to balance their education and well-being needs? What challenges have you faced? Do you feel that there are areas where you could use more support and understanding? Would you like to share your experiences with us and other women, so we can all ask those in charge to do better? Lunch is provided! Please book here or contact NWC Reception via email at reception@nottinghamwomenscentre.com or phone 0115 941 1475.

Friday 15 November 2024, 12noon to 2pm. Nottingham Women’s Centre, 30 Chaucer Street, NG1 5LP

What is Vaginismus?
Join NWC for an online discussion panel and Q&A with healthcare professionals and experts as part of the Women’s Health Matters series of events and workshop at Nottingham Women’s Centre. Please book here or contact NWC Reception via email at reception@nottinghamwomenscentre.com or phone 0115 941 1475.

Thursday 21 November 2024, 6pm to 7.30pm. Online

Tuesday 3 December 2024, 5pm to 7pm
New Art Exchange, 39-41 Gregory Blvd, NG7 6BE

Join Ingenuity Impact, in partnership with the University of Nottingham and Nuffield Health, for this community entrepreneurship taster event to find out more about the opportunities, support, and funding available through Ingenuity Impact to create and grow an impactful start-up! Free refreshments provided.

They are able to fund transport to/from this event for disabled attendees up to a certain cost; there is an option to express an interest in this funding when booking a free space via the Ticket Tailor event page.

More event listings on our website

Head over to the dedicated 'External Events and Training' page on our website to view more events and training opportunities from Nottingham's Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.

If you would like to submit an event to feature on this page, please fill in our online event submission form. Events will be approved for publication on the NCVS website at our discretion, taking into account our aims and mission.

Our full Training and Development programme is available to view on our website. All courses take place online via Zoom.

We have new sessions and new dates for 2024/2025. Book now.

Thursday 9 January 2025, 10.30am to 1pm

This online training will give you a basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities in safeguarding adults and how to respond to concerns.

Cost: £25 per participant

Thursday 9 January 2025, 10.30am to 1pm

This online training will give you a basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children and young people and how to respond to concerns.

Cost: £25 per participant

Wednesday 27 November 2024, 10.30am to 1pm

This online training will give you a basic understanding of the role and responsibilities of a Designated Safeguarding Lead Person for an organisation working with vulnerable children and young people.

Cost: £25 per participant

Thursday 13 February 2025, 6pm to 7.15pm

This online training explains your safeguarding responsibilities as a trustee for an organisation working with vulnerable adults or children and young people.

Cost: £15 per participant

Monday 3 March 2025, 6pm to 8pm

This online training covers the basic information that all trustees should know.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 5 February 2025, 10.30am to 12.30pm

This online training takes you through the basics of being a Fire Warden/Fire Marshal and will prepare you to carry out this very important role.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 25 February 2025, 10.30am to 12.30pm

Learn the basics of taking effective minutes in this online training – and make note taking easy.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 21 January 2025, 6pm to 8pm

This online training will teach you the basics of health and safety, and explain the process of carrying out a risk assessment in your organisation.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 12 March 2025, 10.30am to 12.30pm

This online training will refresh your knowledge as a trustee, update you on current issues, improve your personal skill set and help you develop your role for the benefit of your organisation.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 22 January 2025, 10am to 11am

Identify barriers to volunteering and develop ideas to minimise and remove them during this training, to ensure your organisation isn’t missing out on great volunteers.

Cost: £10 per participant

Tuesday 26 November 2024, 10am to 12 noon

This online training, previously called “How to be a Better Leader of Volunteers”, takes you beyond the basics of managing and supporting volunteers and will explore some of the real-life issues that you’re facing as a Leader of Volunteers.

Cost: £20 per participant

Tuesday 3 December 2024, 10am to 12 noon

This online training takes you beyond the basics of managing and supporting volunteers and will challenge you to consider the difference that volunteers make to your organisation.

Cost: £20 per participant

Thursday 30 January 2025, 10am to 12 noon

In any group of volunteers, there’ll be occasional disagreements, personality clashes and conflicts. Although these are hopefully rare events, this updated, online training will prepare you for when they occur.

Cost: £20 per participant

Thursday 23 January 2025, 10am to 11am

Start your journey into the exciting and rewarding world of volunteer leadership with this online training that explores the volunteer journey from start to finish.

Cost: £10 per participant

Wednesday 12 February 2025, 10am to 12 noon

Although the law has little to say about volunteers and volunteering, what it does say is important. This online training will help you develop an understanding of some of the legal requirements that relate to your volunteering programme.

Cost: £20 per participant

Wednesday 29 January 2025, 10am to 11am

Are your volunteer opportunities struggling to attract people, or people with the right interests and skills for your organisation? This online training will teach you how to enhance your volunteer role descriptions and make them stand out.

Cost: £10 per participant

The Practice Development Unit (PDU) aims to promote and facilitate collaborative learning and the sharing of good practice among professionals and volunteers from all sectors, in Nottingham and neighbouring areas, who work with people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD). This is understood as a combination of mental ill-health, substance misuse, homelessness, offending and domestic abuse, among other issues.

Contact our PDU Team if you need more information: pdu@nottinghamcvs.co.uk

Join our free online hub www.pdunottingham.org

Follow us on Twitter @NottinghamCVS #PDUNottingham.

Did you know the PDU Online Hub hosts a comprehensive e-learning suite? Check out this fortnight's PDU highlight below.

Wednesday 27 November 2024, 10am to 12 noon
Online via Microsoft Teams

These used to be closed sessions, but are now open to registrations from those working in accommodation based services.

An online forum for professionals, volunteers and people with lived experience to more fully understand the barriers to employment experienced by both staff and service users within supported accommodation settings.

This CoP is facilitated in partnership with Jess Smith, Research and Evaluation Manager at Framework. Jess has been working within complex needs and employability services for more than sixteen years. She is a passionate advocate of ‘work first’ and strengths-based approaches that champion the holistic benefits of engaging with employability.

Tuesday 3 November 2024, 10.30am to 11.45am
Online via Microsoft Teams

Part of a new Practice Development Unit (PDU) online learning series focused on sharing latest research and learning in the field of severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD). It draws on insights gained from the Changing Futures Programme as well as innovation and insights from a range of organisations and services across our systems.

'Let’s Talk Health', part of Thriving Nottingham, is a 90-minute training session designed for Nottingham workers and volunteers who interact with residents in the community in a non-clinical context. The training aims to equip participants to handle organic, often tricky conversations about lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, losing weight, increasing physical activity, or addressing gambling, emotional wellbeing, or substance misuse. Participants will learn to recognise and harness 'change talk' to guide individuals towards solutions. Sessions are held every Monday, with an in-person morning session and a virtual evening session.

Click here to view available dates and register.

Equation currently has two training sessions available in Nottingham city.

Non-Domestic Abuse Stalking Awareness
This 2.5-hour training session will equip you to support someone experiencing stalking that isn’t happening as part of domestic abuse. The session is for anyone who might have contact with someone experiencing it as part of their work.

Wednesday 20 November 2024, 09.30am to 12 noon. Online. Register here

How Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse Use Technology
Learn how perpetrators use every day tech in their abuse and the impact on the survivor during different parts of a relationship: before leaving, during escape, and in life apart. Discover some of the many tools to help protect survivors from tech abuse and recognise the signs.

Monday 18 November 2024, 1pm to 4pm. Online. Register here

If you are a VCSE organisation in Nottingham City or a VCSE organisation recruiting to a job role which covers the Nottingham City area, you can submit a job advert for our website. Adverts remain on our website until the closing date. We feature new adverts once in the e-bulletin, where possible, depending on the volume of new adverts received.

There are lots more job listings on our website. You can view all the job vacancies available by clicking on the 'More Vacancies' button at the bottom of this section.

Nottingham Muslim Women's Network and Juno invite everyone in Nottingham to turn orange on Monday 25 November 2024.

This day marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and kicks off the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, running until Tuesday 10 December 2024.

How you can participate:

• Wear something orange
• Add small touches like orange bracelets, earrings, or a simple ribbon
• Orange backdrops for online meetings
• Use orange decorations (candles, flags, balloons, flowers, etc.)
• Bake some orange cake or cupcakes to share with friends and colleagues

Share your orange photos on social media with these hashtags to spread the message: #nmwnetwork, #16daysofactivism, #16daysactivism, #orange4juno, #orangetheworld, #16days, #generationequality

Citizens Advice is looking to onboard new Independent Advice Agencies to deliver on its Energy Outreach Project. 

This project aims to support consumers by providing energy advice either on a one-to-one basis or in a group setting. The main focus of this project is to deliver support to consumers via champions in a community outreach setting, particularly aiming to reach those people who are less likely or less able to access support services already and who may be living in marginalised communities.

They are looking for organisations that are able to commit to supporting 100 to 200 consumers between now and the end of March 2025.

If you require any further information and would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact Daisy Hammond at daisy.hammond@citizensadvice.org.uk or on 07771955078.

Nottingham Women's Centre would like to represent the voices of all women in Nottinghamshire in the next edition of its quarterly Issues Paper. The Issues Paper is distributed to a variety of audiences, including MPs, national women’s organisations and coalitions, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the new East Midlands Mayor, councillors, the Ministry of Justice, and funders. On some occasions, MPs have reached out to the Centre to enquire about issues highlighted in the Issues Paper and how they can be addressed.

They are offering Nottingham groups to share what issues are impacting the women they work with by replying to these three key questions:

• What are the issues impacting the women you work with?
• What actions has your organisation taken to address the issues?
• What are your organisation’s key asks on the issue?

Also include a link to your organisation’s website for more information or signposting.

The Mental Health Community is inviting businesses to join the next free Community
Headspace Programme, a 12-month initiative designed to help you create a more
inclusive workplace with a focus on mental health. The programme offers practical,
flexible support tailored to your team’s needs. Over the year, you’ll benefit from:

• Specialist training workshops
• 1-on-1 advice sessions
• Shared learning with peers
• Expert guidance from professionals with lived experience

Based on CARE principles, the programme is specially designed to offer practical and
applicable steps to help you create your own actions. So whether you are worried about your team or just want to polish what you’re already doing, The Mental Health
Community team will support you to create the most inclusive workplace possible.

Click the link below to find out more or contact the team by email at hello@thementalhealthcommunity.co.uk to find out how the programme could benefit your organisation.

The deadline for submissions is Sunday 1 December 2024

Nottingham CityCare provides key health services in the community. This includes health visitors, district nurses, home-based nursing, rehabilitation, and care for long-term conditions. They also offer a range of children’s public health services and run the NHS Urgent Treatment Centre.

They want their services to be easy to access, meet the needs of their patients and families, and provide good value.

They’ve asked Forever Consulting to find out how residents want community health services to be delivered. The survey only takes 10 minutes, and your answers will help improve their services.

Everyone who completes the survey can enter a prize draw for the chance to win a £100 high street voucher.

The deadline for submissions is Sunday 17 November 2024, 11.55pm

HM Prison and Probation Service is committed to ensuring that Community Payback placements serve not only as a visible demonstration of reparation and punishment but also provide benefit to the public by meeting local community needs. They are interested in capturing the views of organisations and groups who have recently or previously accessed Unpaid Work, as well as organisations who may have suggestions for unpaid work projects in your communities.

A brief outline of Community Payback can be found here.

The deadline for submissions is Thursday 12 December 2024, 12 noon

NCVO is working closely with the government and ACEVO (the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) to develop the Civil Society Covenant. 

Earlier this year, NCVO worked with its members and ACEVO to develop a Voluntary Sector Manifesto. The Manifesto calls for a new framework to reset the relationship between our sector and government. The new government is keen to work with them on this.

Since the general election, they’ve engaged over 50 voluntary infrastructure bodies and worked with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to develop draft principles that will define this new two-way relationship. Once finalised, these principles will form the Civil Society Covenant.

The Covenant will:

• Support collaboration between civil society organisations and government
• Ensure respect for the different roles we play, and protect our independence
• Support all public bodies and civil society organisations
• Build on and support existing agreements in place at a local level
• Complement other arrangements in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

General VCSE sector resources

• What does the Autumn Budget 2024 mean for the health and care? - In this explainer, Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at The King's Fund, breaks down what the Autumn Budget means for the NHS, adult social care, and wider health and care services.
  
  
• New research reveals many charity trustee boards remain incomplete - New research reveals nearly two-thirds of charity trustee boards have vacancies, impacting their effectiveness and increasing trustee burnout risks.
  
  
• The road to digital transformation for non-profit organisations - Fill in some organisational information (such as email address and job title) to access this white paper on the latest industry research on digital transformation.

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